Pilatus Aircraft
Industry | Aerospace |
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Founded | 1939 |
Headquarters | Stans, Switzerland |
Products | Fixed wing aircraft |
Number of employees | 1441 |
Website |
www |
Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. is an aircraft manufacturer located in Stans, Switzerland. The company employs 1,441 people.[1]
History
The company was established on 16 December 1939, and construction of a new production building started in March 1940. The first work for the new company was assembly of EKW C-35 reconnaissance biplanes from spare parts, and overhaul work on other types.[2]
The first design project was a single-seat trainer, designated the P-1, although it was abandoned before being built.[2] The next project was the construction of the SB-2 Pelican which had been designed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.[2] The SB-2 first flew on 30 May 1944 only one of the five-seat light transports were built.[2]
In 1942, the company won a contract from the Swiss military to modify 33 EKW C-3603.[2] Following on from the abandoned P-1 design, the company started again on the development of a two-seat trainer, designated the P-2.[2] The P-2 first flew on 27 April 1945, and the company won an order for the Swiss Air Force.[2]
During 1945 the company produced a prototype single-engined light transport, designated the P-4, the P-4 first flew on 22 March 1948 but only one was built.[2] During the late 1940s the company produced a number of wooden glider designs and went on to produce fuselages and tail-booms for the licence-produced De Havilland Vampire and Venom.[2]
In 1951 the company worked on the P-5, a design project for an artillery observation aircraft; it was not built.[2] With production of the P-3 for the Swiss Air Force in progress the company achieved its first export order for six P-3s for the Brazilian Navy.[2]
In 1958 design work started on a short takeoff and landing (STOL) light civil transport aircraft, this emerged as the PC-6 Porter which first flew on 4 May 1959.[2] In 1965 a twin-engined variant of the PC-6 was built as the PC-8 Twin Porter, although it first flew on 15 November 1967 it remained an experimental and one-off type, and development was stopped in 1972.[2] Another project for the PC-10 16-passenger twin-engined transport was started but was not built.[2]
In a departure from the production of trainers and Porters the company bought the rights to the all-metal B-4 glider, Pilatus re-designed the B-4 for easier production and redesignated at the B-4/PC-11.[2] The PC-11 first flew on 5 May 1972 and the company went on to built 322.
In 1966 a turboprop-powered variant of the P-3 was flown, and was designated the PC-7.[2] The aircraft crashed and development was put on hold until the 1970s.[2] In 1975 a further prototype was flown, and after further development it was marketed as the PC-7 Turbo Trainer.[2]
In 1979, Pilatus acquired Britten-Norman, constructor of the Britten-Norman Islander and Britten-Norman Defender aircraft.[2]
In 1982 development of an improved variant of the PC-7 was started, it emerged as the Pilatus PC-9 in 1984.[2] Development of what was to become the companies best selling type the Pilatus PC-12 was started in 1987, a single-engined turboprop transport that could carry up to twelve passengers or freight.[2] The prototype PC-12 was flown on 31 May 1991.[2]
The first PC-12 Eagle surveillance aircraft was built in 1995, further developments led to the PC-12 Spectre, and in recent years adoption of the PC-12 by the USAF as the U-28A.
TSA Transairco SA of Geneva was procured by Pilatus in 1997. In 1998, Pilatus Australia Pty Ltd was established, while Britten-Norman was sold.
To further the family of military training aircraft, the turboprop PC-21 was developed and first flown in 2002.[2]
In December 2000, the owners Unaxis (previously called Oerlikon-Bührle) sold Pilatus to a consortium of Swiss investors. In July 2010 the company delivered its 1000 PC-12.[2]
In 2013, Pilatus created Pilatus Aircraft Industry (China) Co., Ltd to build PC-6 and PC-12 aircraft in Chongqing in a joint partnership with Beijing Tian Xing Jian Yu Science Co., Ltd.[3]
Aircraft
Name | Description | |
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Pilatus SB-2 | 1944 STOL transporter, only 1 aircraft | |
Pilatus P-1 | 1941 Single-seat trainer, project only | |
Pilatus P-2 | 1942 Trainer | |
Pilatus P-3 | 1953 Trainer | |
Pilatus P-4 | 1948 STOL transporter, 1 prototype only | |
Pilatus P-5 | 1951 artillery observation aircraft, project only | |
Pilatus PC-6 | 1959 STOL transporter | |
Pilatus PC-7 | 1966 Turboprop trainer | |
Pilatus PC-8D | 1967 STOL transporter, only 1 prototype | |
Pilatus PC-9 | 1984 Turboprop trainer | |
Pilatus PC-10 | 1970 Twin-engined transporter, project only | |
Pilatus PC-11 | 1972 Glider aircraft | |
Pilatus PC-12 | 1991 Single-engined transport/biz turboprop | |
Pilatus PC-21 | 2001 Turboprop trainer | |
Pilatus PC-24 | 2014 Twin-engined transport/biz jet |
Locations
Pilatus Aircraft has its headquarters, along with a production plant, on the Buochs Airport in the Swiss canton of Nidwalden. The headquarters and plant are in the municipality of Stans.
The company's wartime founding called for a location far from Switzerland's borders and right up against a ridge of Mount Pilatus. Original plans actually called for the factory to be built inside the mountain.[4]
Besides its day to day role as an aircraft factory, the Stans plant is perhaps best known for its use as a location for the film Goldfinger, and particularly the exterior shots where James Bond crashes his DB5 and is captured.[5][6]
Besides its Stans plant, the Pilatus group has plants at Adelaide in South Australia, Altenrhein in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen, and Broomfield in Colorado.[5]
References
- ↑ "Personnel Figures". Pilatus Aircraft. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 Pilatus Aircraft Ltd - Chronicle
- ↑ Aviation Week & Space Technology: 60. 23 October 2013. Missing or empty
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(help) - ↑ Wallace, Lane "Pilatus in a Whole New Light", Flying Magazine , 2004-10-09, viewed 2013-09-14
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "About Us". Pilatus Group. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
- ↑ "Location Guide - Goldfinger". mi6-hq.com. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
External links
- Media related to Pilatus Aircraft at Wikimedia Commons
- Company Website
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Coordinates: 46°58′32.61″N 8°22′52.74″E / 46.9757250°N 8.3813167°E